Wall panel and method of fabrication and use

ABSTRACT

A building panel includes a sheet of wood material having opposing surfaces and bounding edges. The sheet of wood material is encased by a coating of a mixture of pigments and polymeric resins electrostatically adhered to the opposing surfaces and edges, and cured.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/869,429 filed Oct. 9, 2007 which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to wall panels.

More particularly, the present invention relates to wood panels for use in buildings and a method by which they are employed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of building construction, a conventional building is typically constructed as a masonry structure, framework structure, or a combination of both. Masonry construction typically includes the erection of masonry walls of brick, block, or concrete. Frame construction includes the erection of a supporting framework of wood or metal for stability and strength. The structure defined by the framework is typically enclosed by sheathing. Sheathing consists of sheet material hung from the framework, typically on an outer surface thereof. Drywall or sheet rock is employed to finish the interior of the structure, and is typically hung from an inner surface of the framework. The materials used for sheet material include wood, metal, glass and plastic products. Upon assembly of the structure, additional procedures or treatments are required to enhance the aesthetics of the building and increase its durability and weathering ability. The treatments, such as the application of paint, water barriers and the like, can be costly and time consuming, but are necessary to protect the sheet material from the elements.

While used extensively over the ages, these building types each have drawbacks. Masonry buildings are labor intensive and require a large amount of heavy materials. Frame buildings while lighter, still require a large amount of time for construction. Both of these building types require expensive materials and man hours of labor for construction as well as various additional steps, such as painting, for completion.

The sheathing materials used include composite sheet material. For this specific application wood based sheets (lignocellulosic composites) are addressed. Wood based composite sheets include particle board, flake board, plywood and the like. Sheet material formed of wood products such as these use various binders to create a solid structure.

Binder compositions which are used in making such composite wood sheets include phenol formaldehyde resins, urea formaldehyde resins and isocyanates. Each of these types of binders has its advantages and disadvantages. Phenolformaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde binders are relatively inexpensive and have high structural strength. Their disadvantages include emission of formaldehyde which can pose health risks and absorption of moisture. The emission of formaldehyde has been addressed to some extent by reformulating the binders to include a lower percentage of formaldehyde. While generally successful, the modification to the phenolformaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde binders also adversely impacts the structural strength of the final product. The other disadvantage of composite sheets made with these binders, moisture absorption, is more problematic. In humid and damp environments, composite wood sheets of this type can swell and distort causing many problems and reducing the life of the composite sheet.

Isocyanate binders provide sheets with good structural strength and have no formaldehyde emissions. They tend to be more expensive, and have some processing difficulties. A specific problem in processing is that the isocyanate has a undesirably rapid reaction with water present in the wood material and any water present in the binder composition itself. This problem can be reduced by utilizing wood materials that have very low moisture content. To obtain wood materials having low moisture content, it is often necessary to dry the materials. This can substantially increase the cost of the final product, and more importantly, the dried wood material tends to absorb moisture and swell when the final product is used in humid environments.

It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a panel for building construction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a panel system for building construction having moisture resistant characteristics.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of using the panel for constructing building with weather withstanding ability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, to achieve the desired objects and advantages of the instant invention, a building panel is provided. The building panel includes a sheet of wood material having opposing surfaces and bounding edges. The sheet of wood material is encased by a coating of a mixture of pigments and polymeric resins electrostatically adhered to the opposing surfaces and edges, and cured.

Also provided is a method of fabricating a building panel. The method includes forming a sheet of wood material, electrostatically adhering a mixture of pigments and polymeric resins to the sheet of wood material to completely encase the sheet of wood material in a moisture resistant coating, and curing the coating encasing the sheet of wood material.

Additionally, the step of curing includes heating the sheet of wood material with the adhered mixture of pigments and polymeric resins with ultra-violet light. In a specific aspect, the method includes pre-heating the sheet of wood material with the adhered mixture of pigments and polymeric resins prior to heating with ultra-violet light.

The step of forming a sheet of wood material includes the step of forming a sheet of composite wood material. A plurality of wood piece is provided and mixed with a resin binder. The mixed resin binder and wood pieces are formed in a sheet of wood material with heat and pressure.

The step of forming the sheet of wood material can include cutting the sheet of wood material to pre-determined dimensions for a building construction prior to the steps of electrostatically adhering and curing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific objects and advantages of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a panel according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a pre-cut panel according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a is a simplified schematic illustration of an exterior wall panel fastened to a foundation;

FIG. 4 is a perspective of panels used as exterior walls;

FIG. 5 is a simplified top view of panels joined with a rebate joint;

FIG. 6 is a simplified top view of panels joined with a mitered joint;

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of panels joined as interior walls;

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of panels joined as interior walls;

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional side view of joined ceiling panels;

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view illustrating a truss on the ceiling panels;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of an interior wall box; and

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of another interior wall box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is first directed to FIG. 1 which illustrate a sectional view of a panel according to the present invention, generally designated 10. Panel 10 includes a wood composite sheet material 12 fabricated of myriad pieces of wood. Conventional composite wood sheet material includes particle board, flakeboard, plywood and the like. These wood pieces can be of various shapes and sizes and can be of newly acquired wood, recovered wood, or recycled wood materials. The composite wood sheet material is formed in a generally conventional manner. In this preferred embodiment, flakeboard is the composite sheet material of choice and will be described below.

The fabrication of flake board includes providing flakes or pieces of wood material, generally of a substantially uniform size, mixed with a binder resin, and bonded together with pressure and heat. Most composite boards are produced by pressing a mat of resin intermixed parts flat in a heated press. Extruded boards are produced by forcing the resin imparted pieces between parallel heated rollers. Wood composite sheet material 12 is then cut to the desired dimensions, and can include shaped edges, such as bull nose, rebated joints, miters and the like, and openings such as for windows, doors, and the like.

To complete panel 10, wood composite sheet material 12 is then sealed against moisture and provided with a durable and esthetically pleasing surface. This is accomplished by providing a mixture of fine particles of pigment and polymeric resin. The powder is sprayed and adhered electrostatically to the surfaces of wood composite sheet material 12 to form panel 10. Pre-heating sheet material 12 is preferably part of this process. Panel 10 is then heating in a curing oven utilizing UV radiation to fuse the powder into a strong adhering coating 14. In this manner a composite wood sheet material 12 is formed into panel 10 capable of being subjected to the environment without adverse effects and eliminating moisture absorption. Additionally, further steps during construction are avoided, such as painting, weather proofing and the like.

As can be seen with reference to FIG. 2, panel 10 can be pre-cut prior to formation of coating 14. The desired edge shape, rebate joints, miter joints, and the like, and openings such as window and door openings are formed in composite wood sheet material 12, so when coating 14 is formed, all surfaces, including edges have the coating thereon.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a method of constructing a building using panel 10 of the present invention is illustrated. A foundation 20 is first provided, and can be constructed in any known manner, such as concrete slab, wood platform, and the like. A sole plate 22 is laid on foundation 20, and the pre-sized panels 10 are then erected and braced as exterior walls 24. The foot edge of panels 10 are held in position by an angle iron 23 extending therealong and fastened to foundation 20. Panels 10 used for exterior walls 24 of a building are preferably 1½ inches thick, and preferably measure 24 feet wide by 9 feet high. Battens 25 can be attached using fasteners such as screws and glued to the exterior surface of panels 10 used as exterior walls 24. Battens 25 extend vertically and provide additional strength and permit attachment of siding if desired. The unique thickness and dimensions of panels 10 allow the construction of buildings capable of withstanding 200 mph winds. Additionally, since panels 10 have been pre-cut to the desired dimensions and with the desired openings such as for windows and doors prior to the completion of the panel fabricating process with the addition of coating 14, all surface are coated and protected against the elements.

Turning to FIGS. 5 and 6, panels 10 of exterior walls 24 are joined employing rebate joints (FIG. 5) at perpendicular or end joined panels 10, or mitered joints (FIG. 6) at perpendicular or angled joined panels 10. The joints are glued with an adhesive 16 and coupled using fasteners such as screws 18.

Once panels 10 for exterior walls 24 are in place, interior walls 27 are erected. Turning to FIG. 7, interior walls 27 are attached to exterior walls 24 or other interior walls 27 (as shown) using a rebate joint, fasteners such as screws, and an adhesive. Panels 10 used for interior walls 27 are preferably 1 inch in thickness. No headers are employed. Since all of the interior and exterior panels are cut prior to installation very little additional material removal is required. In this manner, the panels are finished with coating 14 protecting the composite wood sheet material 12 from adverse weather and in particular, moisture. Any additional cuts or removal of material will be finished by adding a pigment resin mixture, as in the coating, to the exposed edge. Still referring to FIG. 7, the foot edge of panels 10 of interior walls 27 are coupled to foundation 20 using any convenient means such as anchors but preferably a tapcon fastening 19 is employed. The edges of the interior walls can be shaped as desired, such as being radiused or the like for esthetic purposes.

Referring to FIG. 8, angled interior walls are preferably joined with panels 10 of interior walls 27 joined to panels 10 of other interior walls 27 using rebate joints. Lesser angles can employ miter joints instead.

Once interior walls 27 are positioned, ceiling panels 28 are laid over the top edges of exterior walls 24 and interior walls 27 and attached by a fastener such as screws and an adhesive. As can be seen in FIG. 9, panels 10 employed for ceiling panels 27 are joined by an angled tongue and groove joint 30 supported by a plate 32 fastened to each panel 10 by fasteners 33. Plate 32 extends along and across joint 30 between ceiling panels 28. With additional reference to FIG. 10, trusses 35 are then positioned on panels 10 used as ceiling panels 28 for the completion of a roof. Once ceiling panels 28 are in place and attached to exterior walls 24 and interior walls 27, the bracing can be removed.

Interior walls 27 can appear unsubstantial at interior openings such as doorways, archways and the like. This can be esthetically improved by boxing the opening as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. With reference to FIG. 11, the end of an interior wall 27 terminates in a box 40 formed of four pieces 42 a, 42 b, 42 c, 42 d of a panel 10. The four pieces are joined using rebate joints as illustrated, with channels formed in pieces 42 a and 42 c for receiving the ends of pieces 42 b and 42 d. The pieces are fixed using an adhesive within the joint, and a fastener such as screws. Interior wall 27 terminates in a rebate joint with box 40. An end of interior wall 40 is received in a channel formed in piece 42 d. A door frame 45, in this embodiment, is coupled to piece 42 b. It will be understood that an identical box is formed on the opposite side of the door. It will also be understood that while interior wall 27 terminates centrally in piece 42 d, interior wall 27 can terminate at or closer to either pieces 42 a or 42 c. It is also noted that corners of box 40 can be curved by providing curved edges to pieces 42 a and 42 c. A curved joint as illustrated can be employed on any joint in the building.

Another embodiment of a box 40′ is illustrated with reference to FIG. 12. In this embodiment, only three pieces 42 a′, 42 b′ and 42 c′ are required. The fourth side of box 40′ is provided by the terminating interior wall 27′. A door frame 45′ is attached to piece 42 c′. As will be understood, opening such as archways will not employ doorframes and the like.

Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof, which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of the following claims. 

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A method of erecting a building structure comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of building panels, each including a sheet of wood material having opposing surfaces and bounding edges, and a coating of a mixture of pigments and polymeric resins electrostatically adhered to the opposing surfaces and edges, and cured; erecting exterior walls with the plurality of building panels; erecting interior walls with the plurality of building panels; laying ceiling panels on the exterior walls and interior walls with the plurality of building panels; and fabricating boxed openings in the interior walls with the plurality of building panels; wherein: the plurality of structural building panels provide a structural strength of the building structure without use of a supporting framework other than the structural panels.
 18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the step of providing a plurality of panels includes cutting the plurality of sheets of wood material to pre-determined dimensions for the building construction prior to the steps of electrostatically adhering and curing.
 19. A method as claimed in claim 18 wherein the step of cutting the sheet of wood material to pre-determined dimensions includes cutting openings therein.
 20. The method of claim 17 wherein erecting comprises mechanically coupling adjacent structural panels.
 21. The method of claim 17 wherein erecting comprises mating joints in proximate panels.
 22. The method of claim 17 wherein erecting comprises coupling an edge of a first structural panel to an edge of a second structural panel without coupling the first structural panel and the second structural panel to the supporting framework.
 23. The method of claim 17 wherein erecting exterior walls comprises coupling each structural panel to a foundation.
 24. The method of claim 17 wherein erecting exterior walls comprises coupling a batten to an exterior of the exterior wall for attaching siding.
 25. The method of claim 17 wherein each structural panel that forms the exterior walls is one and one-half inches thick whereby the exterior walls withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour.
 26. A method for erecting at least a portion of a building using a plurality of structural panels, the method comprising: erecting at least one exterior wall with one or more structural panels of the plurality of structural panels; erecting at least one interior wall with one or more structural panels of the plurality of structural panels; wherein: the plurality of structural panels provide are of sufficient strength to independently support each wall of the building; each structural panel includes: a sheet of wood composite material, the sheet having opposing surfaces and bounding edges; and a coating on the opposing surfaces and the bounding edges; and the coating comprises a powdery mixture of pigments and polymeric resins that is electrostatically adhered to the opposing surfaces and bounding edges of each structural panel and is cured to form the coating.
 27. The method of claim 26 further comprising forming a ceiling with one or more structural panels of the plurality of structural panels.
 28. The method of claim 26 further comprising cutting one or more panels of the plurality of structural panels before electrostatically adhering the powdery mixture to the structural panel such that all surfaces formed by cutting are covered by the coating.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein cutting forms at least one of an edge shape, a rebate joint, a miter joint, a window opening, and a door opening.
 30. The method of claim 26 wherein erecting at least one exterior wall comprises mechanically coupling adjacent structural panels.
 31. The method of claim 26 wherein erecting at least one exterior wall comprises mating joints in proximate panels.
 32. The method of claim 26 wherein erecting at least one of an exterior wall and an interior wall comprises coupling an edge of a first structural panel to an edge of a second structural panel without coupling the first structural panel and the second structural panel to the supporting framework.
 33. The method of claim 26 wherein erecting at least one exterior wall comprises coupling each structural panel of the exterior wall to a foundation.
 34. The method of claim 26 wherein erecting at least one exterior wall comprises coupling a batten to an exterior of the at least one exterior wall for attaching siding.
 35. The method of claim 26 wherein each structural panel that forms the at least one exterior wall is one and one-half inches thick whereby the portion of the building that uses the plurality of structural panels withstands winds of up to 250 miles per hour.
 36. A method for erecting at least a portion of a building using a plurality of structural panels, the method comprising: erecting at least one exterior wall with one or more structural panels of the plurality of structural panels; erecting at least one interior wall with one or more structural panels of the plurality of structural panels; wherein: the plurality of structural panels independently supports the at least a portion of a building; each structural panel comprises: a sheet of wood composite material, the sheet having opposing surfaces and bounding edges; and a coating on the opposing surfaces and the bounding edges; and the coating includes a powdery mixture of pigments and polymeric resins that is electrostatically adhered to the opposing surfaces and bounding edges of each structural panel and is cured to form the coating. 